38064 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 134 /Tuesday, July 14, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Privacy Act of 1974; Computer

Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice—Computer Matching

between the U.S. Department of

Education and the Social Security

Administration.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Computer

Matching and Privacy Protection Act of

1988, Pub. L. 100–503, and the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

Guidelines on the Conduct of Matching

Programs, notice is hereby given of the

computer matching program between

the U.S. Department of Education (ED)

(the recipient agency), and the Social

Security Administration (SSA) (the

source agency).

Notice of the matching program was

originally published in the Federal

Register on December 1, 1995 (60 FR

61687); the program was effective on

January 1, 1996. Duration was 18

months plus a one-year extension

permitted by the Privacy Act of 1974, as

amended by the Computer Matching

and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (5

U.S.C. 522a(o)(2)(D)). The one-year

extension will expire on July 7, 1998.

The following notice represents the

approval of a new agreement by the SSA

and ED Data Integrity Boards to

continue the matching program on the

effective date as indicated below.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of

1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended by the

Computer Matching and Privacy

Protection Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100–

503), the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) Final Guidelines on the

Conduct of Matching Programs (see 54

FR 25818, June 19, 1989), and OMB

Circular A–130, the following

information is provided:

1. Names of Participating Agencies

The U.S. Department of Education

and the Social Security Administration.

2. Purpose of the Match

The purpose of the match is to verify

any social security number (SSN) and

citizenship status provided by an

applicant for student financial

assistance. Section 484(p) of the Higher

Education Act of 1965, as amended

(HEA) requires the Secretary of

Education, in cooperation with the

Commissioner of the Social Security

Administration (SSA), to verify any SSN

provided by an applicant for assistance

under title IV of that Act. Section 484(g)

of the HEA requires the Secretary to

verify statements provided by title IV

applicants with regard to their

citizenship and immigration status

using an automated or other system,

with other Federal agencies that may be

in possession of information relevant to

such statements and supporting

documentation.

This matching program provides an

efficient and comprehensive method of

verifying the accuracy of each

applicant’s SSN and claim to U.S.

citizenship for the purpose of meeting

eligibility requirements under the title

IV programs. The matching program

quickly identifies those applicants

whose records indicate that they may

not be U.S. citizens, who do not have

valid SSNs or proof of U.S. citizenship

to receive title IV funds.

3. Authority for Conducting the

Matching Program

Sections 484(g) and (p) of the HEA;

section 1106(a) of the Social Security

Act.

4. Categories of Records and

Individuals Covered by the Match

ED will submit for verification from

its Central Processing System files the

SSN and other identifying information

for each applicant for title IV assistance.

This information will be matched

against the SSA Numident, which

contains the SSN, citizenship status and

identifying information for all SSN

holders.

5. Effective Dates of the Matching

Program

The matching program will become

effective 40 days after a copy of the

agreement, as approved by the Data

Integrity Board of each agency, is sent

to Congress and the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) (or later

if OMB objects to some or all of the

agreement), or 30 days after publication

of this notice in the Federal Register,

whichever date is later. The matching

program will continue for 18 months

after the effective date and may be

extended for an additional 12 months

thereafter, if the conditions specified in

5 U.S.C. 522a(o)(2)(D) have been met.

6. Address for Receipt of Public

Comments or Inquiries

Individuals wishing to comment on

this matching program or obtain

additional information about the

program including a copy of the

computer matching agreement between

ED and SSA should contact Ms. Edith

Bell, Program Specialist, Policy

Development Division, U.S. Department

of Education, 600 Independence Avenue

SW, (Room 3053, ROB–3), Washington,

DC 20202–5447, Telephone (202) 708–

8242. Written comments should be

submitted to Ms. Bell at this address.

Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the Federal Information

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time,

Monday through Friday. Individuals

with disabilities may obtain this

document in an alternate format (e.g.,

Braille, large print, audiotape, or

computer diskette) on request to the

contact person listed in the previous

paragraph.

Electronic Access to This Document

Anyone may view this document, as

well as all other Department of

Education documents published in the

Federal Register, in text or portable

document format (pdf) on the World

Wide Web at either of the following

sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the pdf you must have the

Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with

Search, which is available free through

either of the previous sites. If you have

questions about using the pdf, call the

U.S. Government Printing Office at (202)

512–1530 or, toll free at 1–888–293–

6498.

Anyone may view these documents in

text copy only on an electronic bulletin

board of the Department. Telephone:

(202) 219–1511 or, toll free, 1–800–222–

4922. The documents are located under

Option G—Files/Announcements,

Bulletins and Press Releases.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register.

Dated: July 6, 1998.

David A. Longanecker,

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary

Education.

[FR Doc. 98–18698 Filed 7–13–98; 8:45 am]

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